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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky establishes vaping settlement trust fund for youth prevention programs
Last action · February 19, 2026: 2nd reading, to Rules recommitted to Appropriations & Revenue (S)Sponsors: Craig Richardson and 3 others
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What This Bill Proposed
AN ACT relating to investment in youth vaping prevention.
Directs future legal recovery funds from e-cigarette litigation exclusively toward state public health initiatives targeting youth nicotine use, separating these dollars from general state budget funds.
- State legislatures frequently establish dedicated trust funds to channel settlement moneys from multi-state or state-specific corporate litigation into specific program areas rather than the general fund. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Office of the Attorney General
Administers the newly established vaping settlement trust fund and receives proceeds excluding litigation or investigative costs.
Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program
Receives annual distributions from the fund to promote youth prevention and cessation efforts.
Key Facts
- Establishes the vaping settlement trust fund as a trust and agency account in the State Treasury, administered by the Office of the Attorney General.
- Consists of all proceeds received by Kentucky on or after August 1, 2026, from settlements, judgments, or bankruptcy proceedings against Juul Labs Inc., excluding attorney litigation fees.
- Restricts fund expenditures exclusively for use by the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program of the Department for Public Health to promote youth prevention and cessation efforts.
- Requires distributions from the fund to occur no less than annually.
Show all 5 facts
- Exempts the fund from standard fiscal year-end lapse rules under KRS 45.229, allowing unspent balances to carry forward into the next fiscal year.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the settlement proceeds begin flowing into the fund?
What are the funds allowed to be spent on?
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News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · on the Senate floor.
Procedural history
4 actions- Feb 19, 2026SenateFloor2nd reading, to Rules recommitted to Appropriations & Revenue (S)
- Feb 18, 2026Senatereported favorably, 1st reading, to Calendar with Committee Substitute (1)
- Jan 15, 2026SenateCommitteeto Health Services (S)
- Jan 13, 2026SenateIntroducedintroduced in Senate to Committee on Committees (S)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Dedicated Settlement Revenue Stream
Proceeds from litigation against Juul Labs Inc. are legally segregated into a dedicated agency account rather than flowing into general state revenues.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 50)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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